House Forrester
"Know that you never stand alone, you are a Forrester!" - Elissa Forrester House Forrester of Ironrath is a noble house from the Wolfswood in the North of Westeros. They are vassals of the Glovers of Deepwood Motte, as well as having the history of being staunch Stark bannermen, Their seat of power is the wooden castle of Ironrath. Their house words are "Iron From Ice", which echo their belief that - like the ironwood itself - the adverse conditions and unforgiving landscape of the North only makes them stronger. House Forrester's heraldry is a white ironwood tree on a black field, embellished with a black sword pointed downwards. The current lord of House Forrester is Thorren Forrester. History Background Due to the location of their stronghold, Ironrath, on the edge of the Wolfswood, the Forresters control the largest ironwood forest in Westeros, which has allowed them to enrich themselves. They are bitter rivals of House Whitehill, although the houses had once been close. When Robert's Rebellion began, House Forrester answered Eddard Stark's call and sided with Robert Baratheon. During the Rebellion, Lord Thorren Forrester led the Forrester troops at the Battle of the Trident, but did not survive. His son Gregor succeeded him as Lord of Ironrath. Gregor's second born son Asher Forrester was exiled to Essos by his father, rather than face war with House Whitehill, after he had fell in love with the daughter of Lord Ludd Whitehill, Gwyn Whitehill. In Essos, Asher lives as a sellsword. At the outset of the War of the Five Kings, House Forrester joined their Glover overlords in pledging fealty to Robb Stark as King in the North, a decision which placed them in a tenuous position following Stark's death and the defeat of the Northern rebellion at the Red Wedding. "Iron From Ice" At the Red Wedding, Lord Gregor Forrester and his heir Rodrik are slaughtered by the Freys, along with the most of the Forresters' best men. This leaves the third born son, Ethan, as the lord of the house. Lord Ludd Whitehillvisits Ironrath after Gared Tuttle, the squire of Lord Gregor, kills a Bolton and determinately a Whitehill soldier, demanding justice. Lord Whitehill leaves enraged, remarking that he will have Ramsay Snow come to Ironrath. Lord Ethan then must deal with some internal matters in house at Ironrath, such as the selection of his chief advisor, either Duncan Tuttle or Royland Degore and the dealings with a thief, but mostly notably how he plans to deal with Ramsay. Meanwhile, in King's Landing, Mira Forrester, the eldest daughter and a handmaiden of Margaery Tyrell is summoned by Cersei Lannister, who questions House Forrester's loyalty to the king and Roose Bolton. Tyrion Lannister also proposes an alliance between House Forrester and the Crown, which Mira can choose to accept at the risk of angering Margaery or Cersei. Later, she also can ask Margaery for assistance from Joffrey, but if she does Margaery tries but she cannot get the help Mira needs. During the meeting with Ramsay Snow, Ramsay decides to split the ironwood forests between the two houses to see who fares better. Ramsay has Lord Whitehill install a garrison of twenty men at Ironrath, and promptly stabs Lord Ethan through the neck, killing him. He then orders Ryon, the fourth born son, to become a hostage of House Whitehill, taking the new lord away from Ironrath and leaving the fate of the house in the balance. "The Lost Lords" The Forresters' future is looking bleak as now only two of main branch of the house are stationed at their seat of Ironrath, Lady Elissa Forrester and Talia Forrester, the youngest daughter. Lady Forrester has sent Malcolm Branfield, her brother, to Essos to bring Asher Forrester home to Ironrath to aid the family, but help comes from an unlikely source. From a pile of corpses of Forrester men slain at the Red Wedding that has been brought to Ironrath, out emerges Rodrik Forrester who, whilst badly wounded, survived the massacre. Maester Ortengryn tends to Rodrik's wounds as he regains his strength to lead House Forrester back from the brink of extinction. The Whitehill garrison causes problems, being either drunk or starved, such as blocking Rodrik's entry into his own hall. Malcolm locates Asher in Yunkai, after a brief skirmish with the Lost Legion. He, Asher, and Beskha set out to Meereen to call in a favor from Croft, a Second Sons member in order to get the army to help save the house. In King's Landing, Mira is writing invitations to the royal wedding, when she receives a letter from her mother asking to ensure Rodrik's betrothal to Elaena Glenmore stays in tact, implying that she wants Margaery's help. Margaery refuses to do so, noting that if she wrote to the Lady Elaena she would be forcing her hand. Mira can choose to forge a letter to Elaena, or finish the invitation to Ser Maynard. Tyrion invites Mira to a meeting with the merchant lords of House Whitehill, Lords Andros and Morgryn. He dismisses the pair, and he and Mira come to a deal that Tyrion will consider, in exchange for a favor. Rodrik attempts to secure the loyalty of House Glenmore through the marriage alliance to Elaena Glenmore, Rodrik's betrothed prior to the War of the Five Kings, which either ends with the marriage going ahead as planned, or crumbling in the darkest hour. If Mira wrote to Elaena, it would play out with Elaena feeling forced but Rodrik could still get the marriage (player-determined). Lord Whitehill bursts into Ironrath to declare that his men stationed inside the castle are being treated poorly and will assume entire control of the ironwood supply, ignoring the wishes of their overlords, the Boltons. He demands Rodrik to kiss his ring in order to get Ryon to attend his brother's and father's funeral. Mira later enters her chambers to find it searched with a letter on her bed to meet someone in gardens at midnight for information on the Imp, where she is attacked by Damien, a Lannister guard who protected the door when she and Tyrion met earlier. Tom, the coal boy who had helped her previously, comes to her rescue. While Damien deals with Tom, Mira can choose to stab him or flee, and throw away the knife, or hang on to it, but ultimately escapes. The funeral is held for Gregor and Ethan Forrester at Ironrath. Ryon Forrester attends the funeral. "The Sword in the Darkness" As Asher, Beskha, and Malcolm flee from the Lost Legion towards Meereen, where they come across a cave. They enter it, followed by the Legion, and encounter the dragon Drogon. Beskha or Malcolm can be burned by the beast, but they escape with a dragon tooth as Drogon flies off. In King's Landing, Tom briefly informs Mira on the situation concerning Damien. In the throne room, Cersei tells Margaery of Mira's dealings with Tyrion, angering her. She warns Mira to not let it happen again. Ironrath is disturbed by the Whitehill Garrison as Gryff Whitehill arrives, proclaiming himself lord and invites himself and his men into the great hall. After, the whole council meets in the grove and discuss a plan about either saving Ryon or exiling Gryff. Duncan notes that the Whitehills have raided Forrester lands, burnt farms, and cut down ironwood trees. In private, Duncan tells Rodrik that Gwyn Whitehill wants to have a meeting with him. As Margaery prepares for the wedding, Tyrion enters the area, and asks to speak to Mira privately. The player can choose to either stay with Margaery or speak privately with Tyrion. Regardless, Tyrion informs Mira of a royal decree arranging the Crown to buy Forrester ironwood. Margaery, no matter your choice, is angered and has Sera Durwell do her gown and hair. Sera later mentions while she was getting Margaery prepared, Margaery was talking about who she could replace Mira with. Lucan, a Lannister guard who saw Mira in the gardens with Damien, attempts to interrogate Mira, but Lord Morgryn comes to her rescue by making Lucan spill wine on his shirt, and then proceeding to threaten Lucan and takes Mira to clean himself up. After that, Morgryn notes that Mira stole the ironwood deal and that they could work together and control ironwood prices. However, before their conversation can finish, Joffrey is poisoned, and Tyrion arrested, Morgryn realizes that now is a very bad time to be associated with Tyrion. Mira rushes to Tyrion's chambers and manages to steal the decree. In the night, at a ruined farm, Rodrik meets with Gwyn privately. She informs him about her father knowing about their plan, due to there being a traitor in the council. She also warns him that her father is sending a great deal of gold to someone in King's Landing, and that Rodrik must submit to Gryff to save his family. Whitehill soldiers start coming and Rodrik leaves before they notice him. At Ironrath, some of the garrison are making fun of Ethan's death, and Rodrik can strike one. Across the Narrow Sea, Asher's group arrives at Meereen, and meet Croft. After he jokingly threatens them, and while Croft can't just join, he arranges a meeting with Daenerys Targaryen after Asher shows either Malcolm's burns, a dragon tooth, or Beskha's burns as evidence that they encountered Drogon. The day after, Gryff grabs Talia Forrester and shows that she bit one of his soldiers, and says she must be punished. Gryff wants Rodrik and all the Forresters to know their place, and claims to be the new Lord of Ironrath. Rodrik volunteers to take Talia's punishment, and can choose to submit to Gryff or keep getting backing up. Mira, after successfully stealing the decree, can either burn it or keep it. Asher is granted his meeting with Daenerys, who warns him to speak carefully of her dragons. "Sons of Winter" Asher, Malcolm, and Beskha in their meeting with Daenerys, who does not believe their claim that they encountered Drogon. She has Viserion enter the tent, much to the trio's fright. Daenerys offers Asher the chance to touch Viserion, which Asher may attempt or not. She asks for firm evidence, to which Asher can show his companions' burns, a dragon tooth, or flat out refuse. She refuses his request for the Second Sons, stating that Meereen is bigger than them. Before Croft and his men can escort the group out, Daenerys is informed of Beskha's history in Meereen, which Beskha reluctantly confirms. Daenerys proposes Beskha helps the Second Sons, and guide them into Meereen, and she will reward them. However, she has Malcolm stay with her during their raid. Ironrath is once again visited by Elaena Glenmore, along with her brother Arthur and the elite guard of House Glenmore. Lord Whitehill has threatened Lord Glenmore and her family with destruction along with the Forresters if he did not agree to a marriage between Elaena and Gryff. Mira walks through the Red Keep, passing by Tom, who follows behind her. Tom informs Mira that her brother Rodrik was correct, that Lord Whitehill was sending a great deal of gold to someone in King's Landing. Tom also states that the only people he's certain Lord Whitehill deals with are the ironwood merchants, who would be at the coronation feast. Mira responds by telling him that due to Margaery's anger at her, she has been uninvited. Tom offers a solution in asking Sera to help, and warns her of any dangers before departing. Rodrik, Elaena, and the elite guard march into Ironrath, where Lady Forrester informs them that their Maester is getting beaten by Gryff. Rodrik tells the guard that when he strikes his cane to march in. Rodrik and Elaena enter the great hall and to see the beating. Gryff is surprised at Elaena's appearance. After a brief confrontation between Gryff and Rodrik, Rodrik strikes his cane and the whole guard march in and capture Gryff and his men, determinately killing one. Rodrik can beat Gryff before he and his men are taken to the cellars. Ortengryn is taken away to be treated, and Lady Forrester tells Rodrik that word can not reach Highpoint and orders to kill all the ravens and bar the gates, so the traitor cannot spread the word. At Tommen's coronation feast, Mira, although uninvited, manages to get Sera to let her in. Lord Garibald Tarwickis formally introduced to Mira by Sera. She excuses herself to see Lord Andros and Lord Morgryn arguing. She eventually finds out through Lyman Lannister, Andros' new business partner that Andros is planning on acquiring a sellsword army, by answering Lord Tarwick's questions about Sera's family, either lying about knowing them, or telling him Sera is actually bastard. Andros confronts Mira, and she departs the feast. Back at Ironrath, Rodrik speaks with Talia about Gryff. Duncan, Royland and Elissa come to them and Royland lets them know that they've been invited to Highpoint for a 'truce'. Rodrik has to choose whether to bring the Glenmore elite guard to Highpoint or to have them stay at Ironrath and guard. Rodrik can also choose who to bring with, Duncan or Royland. Gryff is then seen being put into a cellar. Asher joins the planning for the raid into Meereen. He and Beskha will join Croft in taking down the east guard post. Daenerys warns before they go if they disobey Croft they will get nothing for their efforts. During their raid, Beskha encounters her old master, Dezhor zo Raza, and Asher can either kill Dezhor zo Raza himself let her kill him and jeopardize their reward, or stop her. Either way, they continue to the guard post, which they successfully take down. At Highpoint, Rodrik meets with Gwyn and the two of them look discuss the Whitehill family and their houses' past. Gwyn will be upset if Rodrik brought the Glenmores. They enter the dining hall, and notice the bread and salt. When Lord Whitehill arrives, they all sit down and Ludd says that House Forrester must help the Whitehills create ironwood for the Boltons, knowing they are the masters of it or he would tell Gryff to burn Ironrath to the ground. Rodrik then reveals the imprisonment Gryff and the garrison and offers to do a trade for Ryon. Ludd calls out to bring out the boy and holds a tool to Ryon's cheek when he has him. He claims that he doesn't care about Gryff his fourth-born. Ryon bites his finger and Ludd says he "oughta kill you right now". Rodrik can choose to beg for mercy, call his bluff on not caring for Gryff, or accepting his deal to help the Whitehills craft ironwood for the Boltons. They leave Highpoint without Ryon, as Ludd insists their trade be on neutral ground. Royland/Duncan, the elite guard (depending on if you brought them with to Highpoint), Elissa and Rodrik return from Ironrath to find it deserted, and if the guard was left to defend it, they will also find arrows and drops of blood. Rodrik hears laughter coming from the Great Hall. He enters it and sees Ramsay Snow talking with Talia Forrester. Ramsay notices him stands up and tells Rodrik that men have said he's a man that can't be broken, and that he's decided to come see for himself. "A Nest of Vipers" Ramsay Snow converses with Rodrik in Ironrath. Ramsay brings Rodrik to the ironwood grove, where he reveals that he no longer intends to interfere with the animosity between the Forresters and Whitehills, instead letting "Last house standing...wins otherwise i'll just kill both of you and be done with it." . He flays Arthur Glenmore and sends the guards back home. Meanwhile, Meereen, Asher cannot get the Second Sons from Daenerys Targaryen, so he instead manages to enlist the help of pit fighters, and sets sail towards Westeros, without Malcolm, who chooses to serve under Daenerys. In King's Landing, Mira has successfully foiled Andros' plans to secure a sellsword army for the Whitehills, at the cost of the protection of Lady Margaery, and has attracted her the attention of Cersei Lannister, who convinces her to find out who Tyrion Lannister intends to call to testify at his trial. Cersei promises to deal with Andros. Mira visits Tyrion and he determines her true intentions and is disappointed if she lies to him or somewhat cooperative if she's honest. Back at Ironrath, Talia Forrester reveals to Rodrik that she has discovered the identity of the traitor of the house. Rodrik confronts the traitor in the great hall. Depending on who you didn't select in Episode 1 to be your Sentinel, the traitor will be either Royland or Duncan. Talia, Lady Forrester, some Forrester guards, and your Sentinel will appear, announcing that Gryff and the Whitehill garrison has escaped. You are then given the choice to execute the traitor, who asks you spare his life to save Asher. If spared he reveals that Ludd Whitehill plans to ambush Asher. Whatever you choose, Rodrik, your Sentinel, and a group of Forrester men-at-arms ride for the coast to meet Asher. Asher, Beskha, and the pit fighters arrive in Westeros. Rodrik meets Asher and his group, but their reunion is cut short by a Whitehill soldier from the garrison, who lowers the gate, separating Asher, Rodrik, the Beast, several pit fighters and Forrester men-at-arms with Gryff, Harys, and a group of Whitehill men from your Sentinel, Beskha, and the rest of the pit fighters and Forrester men. Harys kills the Beast as he attempts to raise the gate, as the rest of the men fight. Asher and Rodrik run to the gate lever to raise, but even with their combined strength, they cannot raise the gate. One must stay behind. The player chooses which brother stays. Whoever you don't choose to stay escapes with the remaining Forrester forces. The one who stays fights the Whitehill men, killing several before hit by crossbow bolts, and being stabbed repeatedly before dying. The brother who flees becomes or remains the lord of House Forrester. "The Ice Dragon" The survivors of the ambush regroups and starts heading back to Ironrath under the leadership of either Rodrik or Asher. With the Whitehills all intents of fighting the Forrester to the point of destruction, all that is left is to rally what strength they have left for their last stand. The Battle of Ironrath ended with its fall and the death of many inhabitants, among them includes Elissa Forrester and Maester Ortengryn. Thanks to the action of the Sentinel, the Lord of House Forrester managed to flee to the fields albeit heavily wounded. It wasn't without cost for the Whitehills, as the battles either cost the life of their lord, Ludd or his youngest son Gryff as well as their lieutenant Harys and many soldiers. Meanwhile, in King's Landing, Mira losses the protection of Lady to Margaery, either due to revealing her schemes or due to the vile rumors about her. As Mira prepares to flee, her enemies starts plotting to kill her. Inciting the rumors of her murdering Damien, the Lannister guards began a manhunt for Mira. With Tom's help, she was able to get to the street where she meets Lord Morgryn who took her to his cart to bring her to safety. It was all a ploy to lure in to a false sense of security. Confident of his victory, Morgryn reveal that he was the one who bride Damien to murder her and gloated that now he and Ludd will control the Ironwood trade. After Mira defy him, the merchant lord angrily push her out of his cart and to Lucan who then imprisoned Mira and prepare her for execution. In her cell, she was visited by Lord Morgryn who realized that Mira was more useful alive. He offers to save her life, in return for becoming his wife, thus putting him in a position to inherit Ironrath since he was sure that the remaining Forresters in the North will be slaughtered. Mira can either accepts and betrays Tom in order to get spared or refuse to give him Ironrath and subsequently gets executed. In the lands beyond the Wall, Gared has succeeded in finding the North Grove. There he discovers a secret that Gregor Forrester has carried to his death, the existence of two bastard children of his, Josera, a warg, and Elsera Snow, a blood magic practitioner. The wights began their assault on the Grove and Gared joins the bastard twins and their warriors in the battle. After the battle, Gared has the choice of either strengthening Elsera's blood magic by cutting out Cotter's heart or keeping his promise to Sylvi by giving Cotter a painless death through Nightshade. Afterward, Gared either decides to take the Grove's powerful guardians to Ironrath in order to assist the Forresters or follow his lord's final request of ensuring that the North Grove will never be lost by staying and fortifying the Grove. In the cold night at a broken village, the injured Lord Forrester was found by his sister, Talia who is joined by either the Sentinel, the spared traitor or Gwyn. They take the injured lord to safety and prepares to continue the war against their archenemy. In another place in the North, Beskha is escorting Ryon to safety. "Beyond the Grave" - AU (Up until this point, Rodrik is the Lord, Duncan Tuttle is the Sentinel, Ludd was killed by Rodrik, Mira was executed in King's Landing, and Gared takes the Grove's forces south to aid the Forresters.) WILL EXPAND LATERCategory:Noble Houses